Obama's campaign money woes: He's working harder for less this time

Now that the economy (and a few other things) are hitting President Obama's reelection campaign hard, maybe the depth of Americans' money troubles will come home to him.

For every one of the 1,154 days that the Democrat has been president, polls have shown that jobs and the economy were the top issues on his countrymen's minds. Yet he invested more than a year and dozens of town halls getting his coveted Obamacare plan passed; it may be tossed by the Supreme Court this summer, will cost twice what he promised and a majority of Americans already want it repealed.

There was the 'Don't Ask-Don't Tell' struggle, the national credit degrading and national debt fight. With his community fixer hat on, Obama invested months getting financial reforms in place. All while shoveling out the door and into the national debt nearly a trillion dollars, and almost as many promises about new jobs from the alleged stimulus to little measurable effect.

Except for Warren Buffet, Obama has been bashing rich Americans like himself for months now. And guess what? A lot of them are not writing him the big checks they did back in 2007-08 when he raised $745 million and his unopened promise bag was full of hope and change.

Last summer after 17 months of hope and change, only 7% of Obama's 2008 supporters were renewing their support for 2012. That's about one-third the rate George W. Bush had in his 2004 reelection bid.

The Washington Post just reported that around 11,000 donors had contributed at least $2,000 to the Obama campaign or Democratic National Committee since last spring. That's less than half as many as at this point in 2008 and less than a quarter of Bush's 2004 turnout, jeopardizing their once assured goal of a billion dollar campaign this time. Obama's large donor rate is also less than Mitt Romney is collecting from his big supporters.

The reasons, interviews of money bundlers determined, are several: the continuing poor economy, unhappiness with some of Obama's actions (or inactions) and over-confidence about his success against the still-competing Republican field. And the impact of rising gas prices, now showing up in national polls.

As one result, the Obama camp has had to focus more on smaller donors. Their almost daily e-mail appeals now seek a $3 minimum contribution, instead of the previous $10-$50. And as an incentive, they promise a lottery chance to dine with the president. Three dollars is better than none now and any new donors can count on being tagged again and again.

Now that the economy (and a few other things) are hitting President Obama's reelection campaign hard, maybe the depth of Americans' money troubles will come home to him.

For every one of the 1,154 days that the Democrat has been president, polls have shown that jobs and the economy were the top issues on his countrymen's minds. Yet he invested more than a year and dozens of town halls getting his coveted Obamacare plan passed; it may be tossed by the Supreme Court this summer, will cost twice what he promised and a majority of Americans already want it repealed.

There was the 'Don't Ask-Don't Tell' struggle, the national credit degrading and national debt fight. With his community fixer hat on, Obama invested months getting financial reforms in place. All while shoveling out the door and into the national debt nearly a trillion dollars, and almost as many promises about new jobs from the alleged stimulus to little measurable effect.

Except for Warren Buffet, Obama has been bashing rich Americans like himself for months now. And guess what? A lot of them are not writing him the big checks they did back in 2007-08 when he raised $745 million and his unopened promise bag was full of hope and change.

Last summer after 17 months of hope and change, only 7% of Obama's 2008 supporters were renewing their support for 2012. That's about one-third the rate George W. Bush had in his 2004 reelection bid.

The Washington Post just reported that around 11,000 donors had contributed at least $2,000 to the Obama campaign or Democratic National Committee since last spring. That's less than half as many as at this point in 2008 and less than a quarter of Bush's 2004 turnout, jeopardizing their once assured goal of a billion dollar campaign this time. Obama's large donor rate is also less than Mitt Romney is collecting from his big supporters.

The reasons, interviews of money bundlers determined, are several: the continuing poor economy, unhappiness with some of Obama's actions (or inactions) and over-confidence about his success against the still-competing Republican field. And the impact of rising gas prices, now showing up in national polls.

As one result, the Obama camp has had to focus more on smaller donors. Their almost daily e-mail appeals now seek a $3 minimum contribution, instead of the previous $10-$50. And as an incentive, they promise a lottery chance to dine with the president. Three dollars is better than none now and any new donors can count on being tagged again and again.

To be sure, Obama is raising more than any of the four remaining Republican competitors. But the key is how fast he's spending it.

Turns out, this Democrat president spends campaign cash like it was taxpayer dollars. In January, even with no big TV buys, the Obama campaign burned through 158% of what it raised (vs 60% for Bush eight years before). That left Obama and the DNC with $91.7 million in the bank (vs $122 million in 2004).

The president has now dropped any pretense of working over campaigning for the remaining 232 pre-election days. Friday the Democrat left the Oval Office before noon and flew Air Force One to Chicago for two fundraisers, then down to Atlanta for three more, giving him a total of 108 so far, twice Bush's 2004 rate. He has another in D.C. tonight, as does wife Michelle in New York City.

"He is working a lot harder than he thought he would to raise a lot less than he had hoped," observes campaign veteran Karl Rove.

Joe Biden is out beseeching too. At a Beverly Hills breakfast fundraiser in January, Biden sounded a tad defensive about the administration's record, especially on jobs. He ran through the chronic complaint about the bleak economy inherited from you-know-who and the hard, sometimes unpopular decisions Barack bravely made.

"You're backing the right guy," Biden said, adding that Obama "has a backbone like a rail-rod," whatever that is. The vice president, who claimed he spends three hours per day with him, also acknowledged the cold distance or aloofness many sense in Obama. He said it's simply that Obama is a very private person. Obama himself has written how much he dislikes asking rich people for money.

Then, Biden added a strange comment for someone who so wants to continue as the president's political partner. Perhaps presciently, Biden, who became a senator when the president was but a sixth grader, admitted that Obama has "character traits that don't lend themselves to 2012 national politics."

Looking at these recent fundraising numbers, it seems thousands of one-time eager Obama supporters have sensed the same thing about 2012 and are acting accordingly.

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